[Chivahn]

I've read a few threads on this forum about cloth bedding (I use towels). To keep the kids from pulling it up, I tried the binderclip trick, and it worked amazingly - for the boys. The girls just picked a spot and started chewing till they could get under it.

How do you keep towels in place with chewers? Is it a lost cause? Because I don't like how in my FN half the floor is uncovered, no bedding, no nothing, making it a pain in the butt to clean.

 

[lilspaz68]

I use fleece. I have fleece throws that are the perfect size for tucking under the FN pan. I also put male velcro on the bottom (right near the sides) of the FN pans as the fleece will really grip and hold better. I liked the towels but I could never get wide enough ones to really tuck under, plus I handwash my ratlaundry and fleece dries soo fast unlike towels.

 

[Lesath]

Awww, those ratties in the hammock are so cute. Mine never use the hammocks, they just rip them down and destroy them. :lol:

 

[Chivahn]

Mine tucked under just fine, the problem is that the girls chew holes in it and get under it anyhow

 

[ratastic]

Is it hard for them to get down from the 2nd level? That ladder is very steep.

 

[Stephanie]

Man how many rats are in there?? LOL i just see lumps in the hammocks and a bunch on the shelf LoL is that a ferret nation?

i love the set up of that very neat! My girls would tear it to pieces same as Chivan's do LoL I just let my girls go to twon then sew up the holes with parches LoL

 

[crapola]

yeah, my girls would chew the living daylights out of all that lovely fleece too. they discovered at some point today that they love the taste of lino... my brother will kill me when he gets home from his holiday...

 

[lilspaz68]

Awww, those ratties in the hammock are so cute. Mine never use the hammocks, they just rip them down and destroy them. :lol:

For persistent chewers, flat hammies rather than pockets make the hammock last longer...I learned that after paying big money. Plus I find fleece and flannel are extra tasty. A trick for chewers is to buy placemats at the dollar store that you can make into hammies. These rarely get chewed.

You can use washcloths and poke shower hooks thru them, etc.

 

[lilspaz68]

Is it hard for them to get down from the 2nd level? That ladder is very steep.

I did it on purpose to make them work a bit harder and they do just great on it. Some of mine are a bit chubby even on low fat, low protein lab blocks, so they need the bit of exercise. When they get older and less agile I will move the shelves down so the ramp is on less of an angle.

 

[lilspaz68]

Man how many rats are in there?? LOL i just see lumps in the hammocks and a bunch on the shelf LoL is that a ferret nation?

i love the set up of that very neat! My girls would tear it to pieces same as Chivan's do LoL I just let my girls go to twon then sew up the holes with parches LoL

There are 13 in there, 1 neutered boy, 10 spayed girls and 2 intact girls. Very happy crew.

Mine tucked under just fine, the problem is that the girls chew holes in it and get under it anyhow

One of the reasons I use those fleece blankets is that they are only a dollar, and once they have been chewed too much, even when folded over for the small cages or cut in half for FN shelves I pitch them.

Mine chew holes too, I just don't take pics of those times....hehehe.

 

[mopydream44]

One of the reasons I use those fleece blankets is that they are only a dollar

I've seen it mentioned that you can get cheap fleece blankets from a dollar store........can you give a name of a dollar store that supplies them?

I went into Dollar Tree (had a buncha wonderful stuff for the ratties) but they didn't have any fleece blankets. I'm in rochester NY now, and I'd love to know of a good $ store that can supply me with rattie goods!!! I have decided I'm only going to purchase YN and Nutro Natrual Choice from pet stores from now on!

I bought these awesome hanging storage units for the ratties for 3$ they are HUGE, and I ended up paying 6$ each for my two crappy hammocks from Petco. I'll be setting up Rattie FunLand in the next week or so....I can't wait to show pictures!!!

 

[Mana]

My girls also love to get under the towels. If I try to secure them too well so they can't get under, they'll chew the towels to pieces.. apparently lino is the most comfortable place to sleep! Luckily, my girls only sleep under there, and sometimes hoard food, so it doesn't make cleaning too difficult. And they don't remove the towel, as long as it's secure in most places, and if there is a way for them to get under there they don't even bother chewing. Maybe if you secure it mostly but leave a space open so they can get under if they want, they won't chew and pull it up. It'll still look okay, except for the lumps of rats under the towel :lol:

 

[Sparker]

I was thinking about making "slip cover" type fabric things for my shelves... Maybe something out of a durable fabric that wraps all the way around with a zipper on the bottom?

Has anyone tried it? Any ideas? The only downside is that I couldn't hang things from the bottom of the shelves, then...

 

[savveth]

Is fleece easy to clean? Does it retain smell?

 

[ambernd]

[quote="

There are 13 in there, 1 neutered boy, 10 spayed girls and 2 intact girls. Very happy crew.[/quote]

Is that a FN 142? If it is then it is overcrowded. They can only hold 12.

 

[lilspaz68]

[quote="

There are 13 in there, 1 neutered boy, 10 spayed girls and 2 intact girls. Very happy crew.

Is that a FN 142? If it is then it is overcrowded. They can only hold 12.[/quote]

Yes I know what the cage calculators say, but I also know my rats. Any other group and I wouldn't push it like that, but as I said a very happy crew with no overcrowding issues.

I have had this discussion time and again with my other experienced ratowning friends, since I worried as well, but the rats all get along beautifully.

 

[MagicalLobster]

My little boys have this problem of peeing all over everything. All the hammocks end up smelling horrid after one day of having them. This is why I use old towels and such to make them so it isn't a loss when they're destroyed. Plus, only two of my rats are yet mature enough to use them without going crazy with boredome and or chewing them down.